Videos

Photos

More Like This

Tenuously based on the legends of Easter Island, Chile, this story details a civil war between the two tribes on the island: the Long Ears and the Short Ears. A warrior from the ruling ... See full summary »

A small group of friends decide to test the courage of the most frightened guy of the team and such test involves skydiving. Pretending to be reporters doing an article about it, they meet ... See full summary »

Storyline

During the war in Afghanistan a Soviet tank crew commanded by a tyrannical officer find themselves lost and in a struggle against a band of Mujahadeen guerrillas in the mountains. A unique look at the Soviet 'Vietnam' experience sympathetically told for both sides.Written by
Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca>

Company Credits

Production Co:

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

Did You Know?

Trivia

The fire commands and terminology used by the tank crew in combat are the same as used by U.S. Army tank crews. This was to add military flavor to the movie, and give it a very realistic feel. See more »

Goofs

Just after being wounded, uncle Akbar shoulders his weapons twice while talking to Taj. See more »

Quotes

Taj:
You said you could destroy the tank in one shot!
Moustafa:
Maybe it was not the will of Allah.
Taj:
Maybe you are just a bad shot!
See more »

Crazy Credits

At the start of the film, just after the Columbia Pictures logo the following quote is given: When you're wounded an' left on Afghanistan's plains. An' the women come out to cut up your remains, Just roll to your rifle an' blow out your brains, An' go to your Gawd like a soldier. - Rudyard Kipling See more »

Alternate Versions

There are two versions playing on American Premium (Subscription) Movie Channels. One has subtitles for the Mujahadeen and the other does not. Currently, on STARZ, the version with subtitles is playing. Last year, on A&E, was the version without subtitles. See more »

User Reviews

This neglected and largely unknown anti-war film, ranks as one of the best of the genre. Since other posters have commented extensively on this movie, I'll limit myself to a few comments about those elements others have not addressed.

In it my understanding from material I read at the time the movie was in release (I saw it in Los Angeles when I was living there in the late 80s) that the actors who portrayed Afghanis learned and delivered their lines phonetically. The fact that the "Russians" sound like Americans, and the Afghans are speaking the language without subtitles is a brilliant dramatic device. Virtually no one is going to understand what the Afghanis are actually saying, but it is possible to get the gist from the context and from body language. This has the effect of alienating the viewer from the freedom fighters and making them tend to identify with the Russian tank crew. The movie then operates subversively against this natural tendency throughout the remainder of the story.

The hunting of the tank by the Mujahadeen has an almost mythic quality, except for the fact that the T-62 is real and it has a human crew. And leading that crew is the tank commander whose entire life was shaped by his experiences in "The Great Patriotic War" against the Nazis when, as an 8-year-old, he was used by Russian troops in Stalingrad to help kill German tanks. The commander is as monomaniacal as Ahab, but instead of pursuing the whale, he is it's animating spirit.

There are a lot of layers to this movie -- it will definitely repay repeat viewings.

59 of 72 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this